Bulgaria and Romania should initiate a common European treaty to counter Russian hybrid threats and strengthen defense in the Black Sea. This was stated by former Defense Minister Assoc. Prof. Velizar Shalamanov in the program "Bulgaria, Europe and the World in Focus" on FOCUS radio.
"I would very much like the Bulgarian president, the Bulgarian prime minister to be the initiators of such a treaty", Shalamanov pointed out.
According to him, Sofia should work together with Romania and Ukraine, and subsequently seek the support of other European countries. He also supported the proposal for a joint military command in the Black Sea, which could include Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.
“Diplomacy without capabilities, without military force, practically cannot work“, said the analyst and called for specific measures against drone attacks, cyber threats and attacks on critical infrastructure.
Shalamanov emphasized that Bulgaria should seek additional assistance from allies to strengthen air defense and cybersecurity, as well as direct its investments to priority multinational defense projects. The former minister criticized Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev's support for the deal between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
“I interpret this move as a position by Bulgarian Prime Minister Radev against the interests of Europe and against the interests of Bulgaria, in support of the interests of Russia“, said Shalamanov. He warned that such actions could deepen disagreements between allies and make it difficult to reach common decisions in the EU and NATO.
"It is high time we stopped talking in general terms“, the analyst added.
According to him, Bulgaria should regularly assess the economic damage from Russian aggression and threats in the Black Sea in order to justify its requests for financial and defense support from European partners.